Saturday, January 29, 2011

After the Bomb 2e is a stand-alone RPG that uses the core Palladium rules with the TMNT mutation rules added in. In this game, I'm also allowing things from Ninjas and Superspies, and possibly something or other from Heroes Unlimited.

Basically, it's a post-apocalyptic RPG featuring mutant animals! I'd forgotten how much I love TMNT characters. That's what makes this system great. Cause it sure ain't the over-complex, fiddly combat or the as-bad-as-3e antagonist generation or the "simple" (by GURPS standards) vehicle rules..

But I can houserule all that shit. The characters... so good.

Let's see - we have 4 characters in the game at this point. Perry, the DM from our OD&D game, is playing a 7'3", 380 lb mutant sheep named Baab. Baab is a trained Farrier (which presumably means he can shoe himself) and also knows Sumo. He speaks both english and japanese with a scottish accent (lllolll's his lllll's).

Then we have Jennie's character - a currently unnamed mutant Marten (which is like a large, tree-dwelling ferret). This character is ridiculously fast, knows Drunken Monkey kung-fu, can pilot military vehicles, and knows the Art of Hiding, which is the neat trick where you stand RIGHT BEHIND somebody and move around so fast they can't see you. Which would be awesome but she took the Musk Gland: Strong and Stinky bit, so the character is basically a really Silent but Deadly fart. Which is also kinda great.

Next is the brains of the operation: Dr. Cat. Dr Cat is called Dr. Cat because he is pretty much a large scottish fold cat, but with a few minor differences from the traditional cat. Difference one: Dr. Cat is a medical doctor, with degrees in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, Radiology and Dentistry. Also Clinical Genetics, Anthropology, Botany, Analytical Chemistry (I don't even KNOW WHAT THAT IS) and Public Speaking. Except he can't speak because he IS A CAT.

Oh, and Dr. Cat has ectoplasmic hands - for use in surgery, and a crippling catnip addiction. And he can drive both motorcycles and trucks. So he's pretty much Toonces the Driving Cat.

As if that wasn't enough, the final character is possibly the best of all. He is a 14" tall mutant bat. Who knows Ninjitsu. Also he can talk to electronics, sees by ground-penetrating sonar, can fix mechanical objects by touching them, and eats only bugs. Which explains the "Breed and Control Insects" skill. It does not explain the "Bolt-action rifle" and "WP Grappling hook" skills. Man. You can FLY - what do you need a grappling hook for?

Because you are a ninja, is the obvious answer.

The first session consisted of finishing the characters, waking up naked in a tube full of liquid, getting out of the tube, convincing the lab AI to download itself onto a memory crystal, convincing the elevator that it would be fun to release the brakes and plummet down the shaft in order to save electricity (reactor power in the complex is very low), searching through some labs for clothing (Baab is kinda body-shy).

The main feedback, "not enough stuff to kill". Ah 4e-players, how simple things are in your little world. I'm very excited - this is shaping up to be epic and silly and awesome, which is pretty much how I like my games to be.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

I've fleshed out the culture and race I'm using for the Hill Cantons Domain Game. I present to you:

The Khalik:

Although there are some physical similarities, the Khalik Vahr are not dwarves. Physically, they appear more like large, stocky svirfneblin – almost totally hairless, with large ears and oversized eyes.

It’s rare that anyone see the face or body of a Khalik, though. Most Khalik, men and women, wear woven garments that cover their bodies and hoods over their faces, especially when outside. Silk cowls cover their features, dimming bright lights to a manageable level. The natural color of the material they wear is stone-grey, but when they are on the surface they paint their clothing in vertical, irregular stripes in colors that match their surroundings, effectively camouflaging themselves.

Social Organization:There are 2 main castes of the Khalik, the common, labourer caste and the noble, warrior caste. Members of the warrior caste generally wear full-body armour with featureless, full-face helmets, made of a hardened insect chitin. The natural color of the material is also stone-grey, but warriors also paint their armour when the caravans are moving above-ground.

Khalik warriors fight on both on foot and mounted. Foot soldiers are generally encased in long hauberks made of overlapping disks of chitin, affixed to a flexible leather backing. They carry round shields made of the same material, and most carry long-bladed swords made of steel or chitin. Their swords curve slightly and come to a wedge-shaped tip with a back-pointing hook. Most Khalik also carry fighting picks, which double as tools, and iron flails. Many Khalik also carry powerful crossbows along with their shields and hand weapons. Polearms, mostly long-handled halberd or cleaver-like weapons, are also commonly used, especially when the Khalik are defending their Ways.

Mounted Khalik ride powerful lizards called Ehzak. There are a number of different Ehzak breeds; the heavy-limbed Par’Ezhak that are used as small draft animals, the lighter Hur’Ezhak, used for riding and hunting, and the armoured, fanged Kla’Ezhak, which are trained for battle. All Ezhak generally run on 4 legs, but can rise up to stand on their hind legs for periods of time. Ezhak aren’t quite as fast as horses, but they are much lower to the ground, more stable and can easily scramble over rocks, up steep slopes and down banks. Khalik riders tend to use webs of strapping to attach themselves to their agile mounts, and fight using light crossbows, lances, javelins, fighting picks, warhammers and flails.

Female Khalik of the noble classes are often fighters – it’s almost impossible to tell if most Khalik are male or female. Some noble females belong to the Tannuth, who are the magic-users of the Khalik. The Tannuth wear spidersilk robes and full-face masks, and are the only female members of the Khalik who are recognizable as such. The Tannuth are effectively the educated class of the Khalik. They are responsible for construction, engineering and scientific endeavours, in addition to being skilled users of magic, often specializing in illusions.

Religion:The Khalik worship one god, Ohm’Khalik, Lord of the Paths Above and Below. Ohm’Khalik is a god of exploration, trade and travel, but also of warfare, if necessary. Many male members of the noble class are priests of Ohm’Khalik, and make up the religious caste of the Khalik.

Culture:The Khalik are a semi-nomadic, tribal society that move between surface and underground sites in great armored caravans. There are several major tribes of Khalik, and each tribe is composed of a number of semi-autonomous "Ways" or caravan-clan units that are tied together by treaties and kinship. There are also a fair number of "Lesser Ways" that are not tied directly to the major tribes, but operate as intermediaries, allies or rivals of the larger tribes.

Wholks:Khalik Ways move about the country using Wholks– these are giant beetles that have been bred to have holes and flat places on their carapace that allow wagons to be constructed on their backs. The wagons have high sides and firing slots, allowing them to double as small fortifications. All wagons have at least 5 dwarves, a driver, 2 crossbowman and 2 heavy infantry, aboard at all times. They also each have 3 polearms (Halberds, basically) attached to hooks on the inside. All Khalik are trained to move to the wagons at the first sign of attack, and to use the halberds to defend the wagons.

Wholks cost about as much as 4 draft horses, and can pull a similar amount. The wagons carry as much weight as a standard wagon, and can be taken off the back of the Wholk and disassembled, allowing the caravan to move through fairly small spaces. Wholks-wagons can also be quickly broken down and rebuilt into a fortified laager. Each wagon provides 50 feet of light fortification, and takes 2 people 1 hour to disassemble and set back up. The Khalik often combine the laager fortifications with wooden stakes and a quickly-dug trench if expecting trouble.

The main advantage of the Wholk is that it eats damn near anything (although quite a bit of anything) and is effectively an ATV – it can easily navigate an underground or mountain environment that a horse cannot move through. Downside is it’s a bit slower. moving at half as fast as a horse-drawn cart.

The other use of the Wholk is that it is a domesticated animal, used for food and materials. A well-fed Wholk lays eggs regularly. These eggs are round, tough-shelled and about the size of a basketball. They are edible, and provide one of the major food sources for the Khalik. In an area with ample forage, one Wholk produces enough eggs to feed 5-8 people. The usual ratio of Khalik to Wholk in a caravan is between 5 and 10 to 1. Wholks that die or are killed can be eaten as meat (food for 1 month for 25 people) and their shells are used as armor and building materials. Wholk also shed chitin regularly, and have to be “trimmed” in order to keep them useful for carrying wagons. This shed chitin is used for tools, weapons and armor.

Wholk eggs are buried by the insect, and gestate for 6 months. 1-2 Wholk larvae hatch from each egg - the larvae are about 1 foot long and capable of defending themselves and burrowing to escape danger. They eat plant material, insects, small animals and carrion ravenously, and grow to full-size in about 1 year. A full-grown Wholk is about 18 feet long, 5 feet high, and moves on hundreds of small, powerful legs. They are essentially giant millipedes.

Wayfinders:The Wayfinders are small, detached groups, associated with the Ways, but travelling separately from them. They act as scouts, skirmishers, foragers and warbands for the Ways. Usually, Wayfinders are led and made up mainly of dwarven members of the Way they are associated with, but the dangerous, stealthy nature of the Wayfinder life means that outcasts and renegades from other races are often accepted into Wayfinder groups. Some Wayfinders also work as mercenaries, selling their services to powerful Ways. These groups are usually more highly-skilled and specialized than "regular" Wayfinders, and contain a high percentage of adventurers.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

ckutalik over at Hill Cantons has sent out invitations to a domain-style worldgame. The post has the particulars, and I've always loved domain gaming - we used to do it a lot when I was a kid. So without further ado, my submission for the game:

The Khalik Vahr:

"The only way that is certain is the road that runs from birth to death. All other paths are shifting stone and flowing water."

The Khalik are a nomadic, tribal dwarven society that move between surface and underground sites in great armored caravans. There are several major tribes of Khalik, and each tribe is composed of a number of semi-autonomous "Ways" or caravan-clan units that are tied together by treaties and kinship. There are also a fair number of "Lesser Ways" that are not tied directly to the major tribes, but operate as intermediaries, allies or rivals of the larger tribes.

The Wayfinders are small, detached groups, associated with the Ways, but travelling separately from them. They act as scouts, skirmishers, foragers and warbands for the Ways. Usually, Wayfinders are led and made up mainly by dwarven members of the Way they are associated with, but the dangerous, stealthy nature of the Wayfinder life means that outcasts and renegades from other races are often accepted into Wayfinder groups. Some Wayfinders also work as mercenaries, selling their services to powerful Ways. These groups are usually more highly-skilled and specialized than "regular" Wayfinders, and contain a high percentage of adventurers.

The Vahr are a Lesser Way associated with the more powerful Uhr tribe as a confederate and trading partner. The Uhr have recently suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Duergar warbands, leaving the Vahr without their traditional ally and "big brother". With Duergar incursions into their traditional territories and the Uhr in disarray, the Vahr are being squeezed into less productive territories, or spending more time above-ground, which has it's own dangers.

The existence of certain caverns which lead to "Other Ways" has long been known to the Khalik, but the dangers of passing through them have always meant that they are rarely travelled. However, straightened circumstances lead to different thinking, and the Khalik Vahr are desperate enough to risk supporting an expedition into other dimensions.

Terrik Vahr, Wayfinder Captain of the Khalik Vahr.

Dwarf

Lv 7

Alignment: Neutral

HP: 54

ST: 13

DX: 12

CN: 16

IN: 7

WI: 12

CH: 15

Equipment:

Chitin-Plate Armor (stats as plate mail)

Chitin Helmet

Heavy Pick

Terrik is one of the youngest Wayfinder Captains of the Khalik Vahr. He wears the traditional armor of the Khalik - heavy plates of giant insect carapace, painted stone-grey for camouflage, complete with a featureless grey helmet.

His skill in battle, matchless endurance and ability to recruit, motivate and delegate responsibility to his team brought Terrik to the position of Wayfinder Captain. What Terrik lacks in imagination and ability to think laterally, he makes up for with his crafty advisors and his rock-solid tenacity in pursuing a course through to the end. His Wayfinders are a motley crew, made up of members of several different races, but they work as an effective team, and have years of experience in the most brutal and pitiless environment imaginable.

The Elders of the Khalik Vahr saw Terrik as an excellent choice to lead the first expedition through the gate. Once an initial outpost has been set up, they expect to send additional groups through, as opportunities present themselves. Although the Khalik Vahr are not a large country, per-say, they make up for their relatively few numbers by being highly experienced travellers, self-sufficient, tough, and accustomed to living off of the land - both above and below the surface. They will support Terrik's expedition with resources and dwarfpower as long as they see a return on their investment - they are a practical folk, after all.